ISBA Past President William Paul Sutter 1924-2013
ISBA Past President William Paul Sutter, 89, of the Village of Golf, Florida and Northfield, Illinois, passed away peacefully on August 16, 2013 after a brief illness. Bill was born in Chicago on January 15, 1924 to Harry Blair and Elsie Paul Sutter. He graduated from Yale University in the Class of 1945 as a member of Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. Bill’s time at Yale was interrupted while he served his country in World War II. He was a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Field Artillery stationed in the Philippines. Bill received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Michigan in 1950 and was a member of the Order of the Coif.
Upon graduation from Michigan, Bill joined Hopkins & Sutter, the Chicago law firm co-founded by his father. Bill twice argued cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, and he served as President of the Illinois State Bar Association from 1973-1974. He was also a member of the American Bar Association, Florida Bar Association, Chicago Bar Association, International Academy of Estate and Trust Law, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, and the Illinois Supreme Court Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission. During his tenure at Hopkins & Sutter, Bill served as the head of the Probate Section working extensively in estate administration, taxation, and oil and gas regulatory matters.
Bill retired as a Partner of the firm in 1983 and served Of Counsel until 1998. He was also President and Trustee of the Lucille P. Markey Charitable Trust from 1983 to 1998. The Markey Trust was the second largest private foundation in the U.S. engaged solely in the support of basic medical research. During its fifteen-year tenure, the Trust funded research laboratories at many top-tier medical institutions that provided the opportunity to develop major advances in bio-medical science.
Philanthropy was important to Bill and he served Gads Hill Center from 1962 to 1980 on its Board of Directors and as President. He was a Life Director of the Chicago Botanic Garden, and a Life Trustee of Northwestern Memorial Foundation. He formerly served on the Dean's Council of Yale University School of Medicine.
Bill was a member of Indian Hill Club, The Country Club of Florida, and the Ocean Club of Florida. He regularly played poker and bridge as well an occasional game of backgammon with many of his friends right up until the day of his death.
Bill is survived by his beloved wife of 58 years, Helen "Winkie" Sutter (nee Stebbins); their two children William P. Sutter, Jr. and Helen Blair Sutter; and their four grandchildren, Lauren D. Presley (nee Doppelheuer), Charles E. Doppelheuer, William Maxwell Sutter, and Eleni C. Sutter. Bill is also survived by his sister, Mary S. Zick (John W.).
Services have been held. Contributions may be made to Gads Hill Center, The Chicago Botanic Garden, or Northwestern Memorial Foundation.